The first season of the History Channel television series Top Shot commenced airing on June 6, 2010, and concluded on August 15, 2010. The season contained ten episodes, and was filmed over a period of 33 days in the spring in Santa Clarita, California. The winner of the season was British ex-Army captain Iain Harrison.
Iain Harrison later appeared as a coach in Seasons 2, 3, and 4; J.J. Racaza appeared as a coach in Season 2; Kelly Bachand appeared as a coach in Season 4; and Blake Miguez appeared as a coach in Season 2.
Chris Cerino, Peter Palma, Kelly Bachand, Adam Benson, and Blake Miguez returned for Top Shot: All-Stars. Miguez finished in 15th, Bachand finished in 9th, Benson finished in 7th, and Palma finished in 6th, while Cerino was the season's runner-up. According to Colby Donaldson's Twitter, J.J Racaza became a father during filming and was unable to come out for the show.
Construction manager, former British Army platoon commander, gunsmith, competition shooter with various awards
Blue Team
Winner
Contestant progress
#
Contestants
Episodes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1
Iain
WIN
WIN
WIN
NOM
SAFE
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
TOP SHOT
2
Chris
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
BTM2
SAFE
SECOND PLACE
3
J.J.
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
WIN
WIN
OUT
4
Peter
SAFE
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
NOM
WIN
SAFE
OUT
5
Kelly
NOM
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
NOM
NOM
SAFE
BTM2
OUT
6
Adam
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
NOM
WIN
WIN
WIN
WIN
OUT
7
Blake
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
WIN
OUT
8
Denny
SAFE
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
OUT
9
Tara
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
QUIT
10
Brad
SAFE
NOM
NOM
WIN
WIN
SAFE
OUT
11
Andre
SAFE
SAFE
SAFE
WIN
WIN
OUT
12
Caleb
WIN
WIN
WIN
SAFE
OUT
13
Jim
WIN
WIN
WIN
OUT
14
Bill
SAFE
SAFE
OUT
15
Frank
SAFE
OUT
16
Mike
OUT
The player's team (episodes 1–8) won the challenge.
The player(s) won individually in the challenge.
The player's team lost the challenge, but the player was not nominated for elimination (episodes 1–8); or the player did not finish a challenge at the top or bottom of the group (episodes 9–10).
The player was nominated for elimination, but won an elimination challenge (episodes 1–8); or the player finished a challenge at the bottom of the group, but won a tiebreaker (episodes 9–10).
The player lost an elimination challenge and was eliminated. (In episodes 9 and 10, every challenge ended in one or more automatic eliminations.)
The player voluntarily withdrew from the competition.
The player won the $100,000 grand prize and the title of Top Shot.
Obstacle course/relay race with four shooting stations, one rifle per station and targets at 50/100 yards using iron sights. Each team splits into four pairs, with each player shooting one target and spotting the other.
Shooting through seven tubes of decreasing diameter (4 inches to 1.5 inches), one player per tube, one shot per turn. Distance not stated, but described (for the smallest tube) as the equivalent of hitting a US quarter from 25 feet.
Blake
Blue Team
Elimination challenge weapon(s)
Elimination challenge
Nominated for elimination
Eliminated player
Beretta 92F 9×19mm pistol
Shooting targets while riding down a zip-line; maximum 15 shots per player
The trainer for the team challenge was Ben Stoeger, practical shooting expert. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Matt Burkett, practical shooting expert.
^1 There was a second-place tie between Brad and Bill. It was broken by Peter's vote. ^2 Frank and Brad finished in a tie after the first run, but Frank lost on a tiebreaker run.
Shoot apples on stands at 10/20/30/40 yards. A recreation of the William Tell legend.
Brad, Bill
Bill
The trainer for the team challenge was Chris Palmer, longbow and traditional archery expert. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Bill Troubridge, crossbow expert.
Shooting at a grid of red and blue targets, one player at a time. Each player sees the grid for 30 seconds before it is covered up, then has 20 seconds to fire up to 7 shots and hit only the other team's targets.
Blake, J.J., Iain
Red Team
Elimination challenge weapon(s)
Elimination challenge
Nominated for elimination
Eliminated player
South African TZ99 pistol
Fire up to 4 shots at swinging targets in 15 seconds, trying to hit the red "foes" and avoid the blue "friends."
Iain, Jim
Jim
The trainer for both challenges was Craig Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper.
Shooting targets at 25/50/75/100/125 yards, one target per player, head-to-head at each distance. Closer shot to the center of the bullseye wins that distance for the team.
Sever a rope with weights suspended from it, loading 3 rounds at a time. Based on Old West accounts of a superior marksman's ability to cut a hangman's noose by shooting through it.
Caleb, Adam
Caleb
The trainer for both challenges was Garry James, historical rifle expert.
Fire at 50 targets set up in a shooting gallery styled after an Old West storefront, 10 rounds per player per turn. Shorter time to hit all targets wins the challenge.
Blake
Blue Team
Elimination challenge weapon(s)
Elimination challenge
Nominated for elimination
Eliminated player
Colt Peacemaker revolver
From 25 feet, players take alternating shots at a deck of 52 playing cards arranged on a wheel, trying to make the highest possible poker hand. Maximum 7 shots per player; neither one may use any cards shot by the other.
The trainer for both challenges was Spencer Hoglund, historical weapons expert and four-time national champion speed shooter.
^3 There was a second-place tie between Denny and Andre. It was broken by Brad's vote. ^4 Both players tied in the first round by making a royal flush. For the tiebreaker, each was allowed only 5 shots and could not use any cards shot in the first round. After 4 shots, Kelly hit three fives, making it impossible for Andre to win as he only had a pair of fours at that point.
Recreations of famous trick shots: 1. Fire the Winchester over the shoulder to hit a soda bottle, sighting the target with a hand mirror. 2. Using the M&P, hit the head of a nail driven partway into a board from 25 feet. 3. Throw a soda can into the air and hit it with a shot from the Schofield. 4. Same as 3, but using a smaller soda can. One player per trick shot, three attempts each.
Throw clay pigeon targets into the air and shoot them, starting with one at a time and working up to five. In each round, the shotgun is loaded with one shell for every target being thrown.
Kelly, Brad
Brad
The trainer for the team challenge was Jon "Trick Shot" Wilson. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Scott Robertson, eight-time sporting clay shooting champion.
Throw at 6 targets from 11 feet, while balancing over a mud pit on a beam whose width decreases from one target to the next. Maximum of two throws per player per turn; each target must be hit before the next can be attempted. Shorter time to hit all targets wins the challenge.
From 20 feet, fire up to 20 shots at a grid of 8/10/12-inch square targets in 60 seconds, trying to hit only the targets of the assigned color.
Denny, Peter
Denny
The trainer for the team challenge was Todd Abrams, member of the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame. The trainer for the elimination challenge was John "Chief AJ" Huffer, slingshot world record holder.
Tara received news of her father's rapidly declining health (due to lung cancer) and withdrew from the competition after the team challenge. A note at the end of Episode 10 stated that he has since died.
Episode 9: "The Shortest Fuse"
At the start of this episode, Donaldson announced that the teams were being dissolved, and that all players would compete head-to-head to determine who would be eliminated in each challenge. The seven remaining players were given green shirts to wear for the rest of the competition.
Premiere date
Elimination challenge weapon(s)
Elimination challenge
Winning player(s)
Eliminated player(s)
August 8, 2010
Beretta 92F 9×19mm pistol
From 25 feet, shoot and break a burning fuse on an explosive charge; maximum 10 rounds per player. Failure to break the fuse (or shortest length of unburned fuse, if all break it) leads to elimination.
Run uphill and stop at four shooting stations, with one weapon and one target at each (50 feet for the TZ99, then 100/125/150 yards for the rifles). Players must load and clear the weapons themselves. The two slowest times to hit all four targets are eliminated.
J.J.
Adam, Kelly
The trainer for the second elimination challenge was Craig Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper.
^5 In the first round, Iain, Blake, Kelly, J.J, and Chris failed to break the fuse. A tiebreaker was played under the same rules, with only Kelly and Blake failing this time. For the second tiebreaker, each player had 10 seconds to fire one shot at a target; the one who hit closer to the center of the bullseye stayed in the game.
Episode 10: "Season Finale"
No practice sessions were held in this episode. The five individual players eliminated prior to the final challenge returned to watch it.
Premiere date
Elimination challenge weapon(s)
Elimination challenge
Winning player(s)
Eliminated player(s)
August 15, 2010
Beretta 92F 9×19mm pistol
Two players at a time shoot at 12 double-sided targets from 35 feet, trying to flip as many of them to the assigned color as possible in 60 seconds (maximum 40 rounds per player). The two losers play against each other, with the loser of this round being eliminated.
Each player chooses one weapon, target, distance, and shooting stance. All three players try each shot; the one who makes the fewest shots is eliminated. No weapon or target may be chosen more than once. Targets available include shot glasses, bottles, beer mugs, glass panes, and jars.
Iain, Chris
J.J.
Throwing knife English longbow replica Colt Peacemaker revolver Winchester Model 1873 rifle Beretta 92F 9×19mm pistol AR-15 rifle M14 rifle
Players run a course with seven shooting stations: 1. Throw a knife to hit a target at 11 feet. 2. Using the longbow, hit a target at 50 yards. 3. Shoot five bottles at 25 feet with the Colt. 4. Sever a rope at 35 feet with the Winchester. 5. Fire the Beretta through a 1.5-inch-diameter (38 mm) tube at 25 feet. 6. Use the AR-15 to hit six targets in a grid at 100 yards. 7. Hit targets at 100 and 300 yards with the M14. First player to complete all stations wins.
Iain
Chris
^6 J.J. and Iain were the first-round winners, and Chris won the playoff between himself and Peter.
Epilogue
The episode concluded with an epilogue revealing the recent activities and achievements of all 16 players, in order of their elimination.
Mike Seeklander is competing at the World Speed Shooting Championships.
Frank Campana is working part-time as a bodyguard.
Bill Carns continues to work on his radio show. Kelly has been a recent guest.
James "Jim" Sinclair recently won a national match with historic rifles.
